Fishing Report

Going into the Thanksgiving weekend with our final report, action on tautog remains excellent. Aboard the Nancy Ann out of Orient by the Sea, Capt. Rich Jensen told us Monday that blackfish were still in water as shallow as 40 feet on some drops. When winds blew, fishing was up and down, and there were plenty of seals around for competition! Still, there were larger tautog showing plus the occasional keeper cod.

Jensen told us Capt. Mike Boccio had taken the Prime Time 3 to Montauk on Monday to liveline herring for bass with excellent results, too. The Prime Time has split charters on blackfish or bass, booking on Saturday upcoming, and then from Monday through Friday, Dec. 2. Call (323) 2618 for reservations. Capt. Dave Brennan on the Peconic Star II out of Greenport will be sailing Friday through Sunday after an excellent weekend that saw seven or eight fish over five pounds every day and pool fish of seven and a half pounds or better. Brennan also sees some cod in the mix along with occasional sea bass.

Phil Loria at Captain Marty’s Fishing Station in New Suffolk explained how enterprising anglers launching small boats could find blackfish in the sheltered area off the Brickyard in Southold now; he saw one seven-pounder from that spot over the weekend. Late-season tries for bass in the Peconics, trolling with wire, were unsuccessful, however. Bill Czech at Jamesport Bait and Tackle in Mattituck told us beaches were still alive with small bass plus a few keepers; best bet was a tipped bucktail in green/white pattern. Bait also produced at times, and there were tautog to be taken on drops off Mulford and Rocky Point. A hopeful sign for the spring was the presence of lots of small flounder in the traps this month.

At the Rocky Point Fishing Stop, Stan Hentschel saw small school bass taken on bucktails and curly tails and suggested anglers stay with the beaches all the way from Cranes Neck to Mulford. With tautog still as shallow as 30 feet in his area, it was not surprising that big scup were occasionally caught as well. Vinnie at Camp Site Sports liked the herring run at Montauk but was disappointed that only one quick shot of bass was reported off Robert Moses. South Shore surf has been tough, but anglers could catch occasionally on the North Shore if they put in enough time. Jersey beaches, on the other hand, had good action.

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